Why Cathe should NOT do a Yoga Workout

L

lwdinsf

Guest
Hi. At the risk of igniting tempers, I felt the need to post my opinion on Cathe and yoga. I have been reading with interest the posts calling for Cathe to tape a yoga workout.

A disclaimer first: I own most of Cathe's workouts, and agree that she is a fabulous and inspirational instructor. However....

Yoga is more than just stretching. It is a practice that includes meditative poses and practices that require years of attention to master. There are SO MANY yoga instructors who have devoted their careers to learning the practice as a TRADITION, not necessarily as an exercise. Yoga video people like Walden, Yee, Kest, Swenson, etc., have been teaching yoga for 20 years or more. Personally, I can tell the difference when I am learning from a seasoned teacher and when I'm with a novice, or someone like Denise Austin, who branched out to yoga to secure a new market.

Since Cathe is a master of ANOTHER type of exercise, I think she should stick to that. I also think it's good for Cathe fans to branch out and experience other instructors, if only because they make you think differently about the moves.

:)
 
At the risk of being one of those ignited tempers, I think you sell Cathe a bit short. She began producing videos primarily as a step-aerobics instructor, and has since evolved into hi/lo, kickbox, circuit, strength and endurance workout training, demonstrating a variety of modes and methods safely, effectively and in a very engaging manner. Should she turn her hand to yoga or another mind-body discipline as a consumer DVD/video production, I have no doubt she will continue her tradition of safety and effectiveness.

As a certified instructor who receives periodicals from several fitness-oriented organizations, I've watched the debate between yoga-as-a-TRADITION v. yoga-as-a-WORKOUT with great interest. I agree that there are probably too many yoga instructors out there who shave the peach way too close in terms of safety and precision of movement. However, the yoga-as-TRADITION types take themselves and the discipline wayyyyyyy too seriously, often making specious or downright spurious claims about the specific physical benefits of a given pose or practice, and eschewing ANY evolution of the practice to the poor benighted slobs in those rinky-dink fitness studios.

If Cathe makes a yoga workout (and I hope she does), I'll buy it as I have all others, and take my chances.

A-Jock
 
Hey, no anger here! I think you're right in saying what you said. But, maybe she should, I really don't know. That one is totally up to her I guess. I do agree that her fans need to look at different instructors and do other peoples videos as well. I think though that most of them do.
I do remember Cathe posting once though that the traditional yoga is not her style. I am not quoting that because I don't remember how she put it exactly, but that was how it sounded. So, maybe some of her fans, not myself I'm not into yoga, but maybe some of them just like that her style isn't about the meditaion portion of yoga. I know that for me at least, I have tried doing the Rodney Yee tapes and I prefer to do Suzanne Deason if I'm really in the mood to get in a good stretch. Because I don't feel that she has you meditate, just teaches you the moves. But I really have to be in the mood. Sore may be the word I'm looking for, not mood.
Anyway, I just thought I would stick up for some of the people looking for a yoga video from Cathe, since I'm not upset about what you said. That way you don't feel attacked just yet, because like I said I understand where you are coming from, but I can see their side too.

Kathy
 
Hi there.

I agree with what Aquajock stated.

When I think "yoga," I think of it as a "WORKOUT," not as a discipline or tradition. Keeping that in mind, I would certainly appreciate an intense yoga-workout produced by Cathe. I am not into the "eastern" stuff - it actually annoys me to no end - I just want to workout.:p

Have a great day. :*



Blessings from our home to yours...Runathon http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/lach.gif[/img]
 
No ignited temper here, but as someone who has tried many Yoga workouts from several instructors and has never been able to "get it", I would welcome a Yoga video from Cathe. The debate about Cathe doing a yoga video came up a couple of years ago and, if memory serves me correctly, I believe Cathe is certified in YogaFit which is a style created by Beth Shaw. I have never tried YogaFit, but from what I have read, it is a more athletic style of yoga and is not focused on the Eastern philosophy aspect.

I know there are MANY people who are passionate about traditional yoga practice and I think it is wonderful for them, but its not something that has "moved" me even though I know the poses are beneficial and I have really wanted to like it. A challenging yoga video from Cathe would likely open up a different type of exercise to many people who are interested in the moves/poses and the strength and flexibility benefits, but not the meditative part of it. JMHO
 
Hi lwdinsf,

I've had the similar experience in taking a yoga class from a traditional yoga instructor and from an instructor who teaches yoga type stretches, and how different one feels from the other.

All in all, I think it depends on what one is looking for. I must say I have found value in both. There are some days when I really, really need the mind/body connection that I find comes across better with a traditional yoga instructor...like Bryan Kest's voice telling me to "be where I am".

There are other days when I really just want a good stretch without putting in all the mental focus. On those days, a good instructor who's teaching the stretches well suits me better. If Cathe were to come out with some sort yoga/stretch tape, I'm sure it would be of the same high quality as her other workouts. I would also bet that it wouldn't be marketed as traditional yoga.
 
This is a very intriging discussion -- I do yoga more as an exercise as a tradition myself... but I want to make sure the insructor I work with knows what he/she is talking about, so I normally go for tapes/DVD from Rodney Yee or Bryan Kest. But Ali MacGraw has one of the best yoga videos out there, don't you agree? I also really enjoy Kathy Smith's yoga challenge. Even though these two may not be yoga masters, they do have qualified instructors teach with them. Maybe Cathe could recruit a yoga partner to help her with the video. Either way, I'd buy a yoga tape from Cathe. I trust whatever she comes out with will be top notch.
Charlene
 
I'm with Charlene - what a great idea!
As someone who has studied and practiced traditional yoga for almost 30 years (I started WAY before it became a "fad") AND an avid Cathe fan, I would LOVE to see a workout with Cathe partnered by a yoga master (someone who has dedicated their lives to yoga as a way of life).
Just a thought....I buy every workout Cathe comes out with anyway! Believe me, I am not a yoga "snob", I love to see anyone doing yoga...I just know from experience that there are deeper levels than the physical and perhaps it would be interesting for those who want to explore all of yoga's benefits...

Robin
 
No temper ignited here either! I'm all for hearing different opinions!

I have been thrilled with every Cathe purchase I've made so far and for that reason alone, I would buy a yoga video made by her. (Just think of the chaptering!)

I'm not a yoga purist. I like doing it for different reasons. The main reasons are that I feel challenged by it, I get an indescribably tingly, relaxed feeling after a session and it has greatly improved my flexibility. Since I've added more practices to my rotations, I find myself unconsciously doing deep nose-breathing even hours after a workout. Great stress relief! (It's taken me a while to catch on to the breath/pose linking aspect of yoga but I think I've caught on - and what a revelation!)

I've found that all types of yoga appeal to me as long as the practice is challenging and it improves my flexibility. I am a little interested in the meditative/spiritual aspects of yoga but I don't need that side of it to be in every video I own. I don't own any so-called yoga-fusion videos (yoga-sculpt, etc) but I feel they have their place in a fitness regimen.

BTW, A-Jock, I've always wondered about the (dubious?) claims of some instructors that such-and-such a pose "massages your organs," etc. Could you shed some light on this? I mean, wouldn't athletic stretching and even other types of fitness activities achieve some of the same claims made by these instructors?
 
I can understand that someone who is into the more spiritual aspects of yoga would think that Cathe would not make a good yoga workout. Personally, I prefer "yoga flavored"workouts (like those by Karen VOight) to strictly yoga workouts, and I think that's what Cathe would produce. Try as I might, I've never really gotten into yoga. A more "athletic" stretch that incorporates some yoga as well as pilates and other moves would be a welcome addition IMO to Cathe's series of workouts.
 
Hi Guys,
Interesting discussion. I believe that there's room for both types of workouts. While I personally get the most from a more traditional "mind-body" type of yoga practice, there's still a place for a more physically oriented stretching type of workout too. I think Cathe could produce a very high quality DVD of the latter type, and can envision myself using it in addition to my "deeper" yoga workouts. However, I can totally understand her not wanting to delve into this arena, since she has already cornered a specific market. What can I say; whatever Cathe does is okay with me!
-Kate
 
I LOVE the way Cathe has branched out into diverse workouts too such as kickbox, hi/lo, strength training and so forth. I love her step too but there is not a workout she has done that I don't like. We all have the option to buy or not buy something if it doesn't strike our fancy. Just my opionion but I TRULY hope she makes a Yoga-Inspired workout because I will use it and I KNOW I will love it.
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
I also would love for Cathe to do a yoga-type workout. As professional as she is, I know she would get proper training...for a yoga-type workout.

I don't want to do 'real' yoga...the 'yoga as religion' thing. So, the yoga inspired videos are the ones I reach for.

JMHO

ANYTHING CATHE!!! :7

Kim
 
RE: Why Cathe SHOULD do a Yoga Workout

Hard to imagine that Karen Voight, Kathy Smith, or Denise Austin are receiving criticism for their ventures into yoga & pilates. It's Cathe's decision and she's been amazingly receptive to input which seems to provide an avenue for intrusion. Since it's a consumer's right to decide if they want to buy the workout, why the fuss?

I would be quite interested in a Cathe yoga workout because her cueing and form pointers are excellent. I love Voight's yoga inspired workouts. Kathy Smith's lower body pilates workout is super and I've been doing matwork for years with well-trained instructors.

Rodney Yee is a yoga video icon yet the verbal instruction in "Yoga for Athletes" is inadequate. And the verbal cues are essential when you're staring at your knees instead of the screen. How the heck do you "breath into your knees"?? Baron Baptiste has a good reputation but his Level 1 Power Yoga is amazingly deficient in form pointers and his frequent suggestions to challenge yourself are inappropriate for an intro workout. Point is that years of yoga practice don't make for great instruction.

Finally, I believe that some people are turned off by traditional yoga because of the spiritual aspect. This can be because it's contradictory to their own spiritual beliefs or because they're looking to yoga for its physical benefits. So let them get what they need from yoga.

Debra
 
RE: Why Cathe SHOULD do a Yoga Workout NOT

I have seen how Cathe smoothly incorporates both Yoga and Pilates moves into her workouts. Before Joseph Pilates was popularized and marketed, these moves were not called Pilates. Before he was born, no one called them a brand name.

I may be reading too much into Cathe's approach, but it appears to me that Cathe is not the type of person who "buys into hype." Right now, Yoga and Pilates are both often given credit for more than they actually accomplish, in my opinion.

Lots of money has changed hands over both of them, and there are some instructors all too willing to take it, even when they themselves believe that they are not really providing a health benefit commensurate to the prices people are willing to pay.

Cathe is not going to do that. For this reason, I would be surprised if Cathe made a "Yoga" video. Yoga is not pure exercise. To leave out the religious part would turn it into something else (not Yoga).

I am just *so* not interested in being told I am a god (heard that one before) (I think it was first told in a garden;)) or any other subversive drek often heard from Yoga masters.
:eek: }(
 
RE: Why Cathe SHOULD do a Yoga Workout NOT

Obviously, if Cathe produces a Yoga video, it will be an exercise video. For many, Yoga is a meditation practice, connecting mind and body through the breath. Yoga means union. I personally enjoy yoga as a meditative practice and, so, I doubt that I would choose Cathe's yoga workout for my practice. Now if she put out a low-impact, high intensity workout, I'd be the first in line to order it!
 
No temper ignited here. But let me just say that we all get into fitness for different reasons. I got into it SERIOUSLY for health reasons. I don't think that there is any one sure method for losing weight and/or getting fit. So far, doing a handful of different things for my quest for better health has worked for me. I'm interested in yoga for what it can do for my curved spine and how it can help my muscles that I work out almost everyday, whether through strength training or cardio. Having said that, if Cathe comes out with a yoga video, I'll definitely be interested because I'm confident that she can and will give me what I NEED.

Pinky
 
Kathryn...

I have no idea! I know one should strive to lower their breath but can't get lower than my abdomen.
 
RE: Why Cathe SHOULD do a Yoga Workout

> How the heck do you "breath into your knees"??

Practice ;)
ATB,
- Lisa :)
 
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